Laurence Fox

b. 1978 · British actor

Biography

Laurence Fox (born in Leeds in 1978) is an English actor best known for playing Detective Sergeant James Hathaway in the ITV drama Lewis. The son of actor James Fox, he comes from a family of performers and has built a public profile well beyond the screen, through television debate, music and, more recently, party politics.

After being expelled from Harrow School shortly before his A-level exams, he worked as a gardener and in an office before winning a place at RADA, which he completed in 2001. That year he made his film debut in the horror thriller The Hole and appeared in Robert Altman's Gosford Park. The following years brought a run of war and period roles, among them Deathwatch and Colditz, as well as Becoming Jane, in which he played Mr Wisley, one of Jane Austen's suitors.

His most recognised role came in 2006 with Lewis, a spin-off of Inspector Morse whose pilot was ITV's highest-rated drama that year. Opposite Kevin Whately he formed a detective partnership that lasted several series. On stage he worked in productions ranging from George Bernard Shaw to John Ford, and in 2013 he played Guy Haines in Strangers on a Train at London's Gielgud Theatre.

In recent years he has become known more for his politics than for his acting. He founded the Reclaim Party and stood unsuccessfully in the 2021 London mayoral election and the 2024 London Assembly election. After presenting a regular slot on GB News from 2022, his contract with the channel was terminated in 2023 following remarks about a journalist, and the regulator Ofcom later ruled that those comments broke broadcasting rules. His screen legacy rests mainly on Lewis and his work in British period drama.

Key films

The Hole (2001): his film debut, a horror thriller.
Gosford Park (2001): a supporting role in Robert Altman's country-house mystery.
Becoming Jane (2007): plays Mr Wisley, one of Jane Austen's suitors.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007): plays Sir Christopher Hatton, Lord Chancellor of England.
W.E. (2011): plays King George VI in Madonna's drama about Wallis Simpson.

Trivia

Expulsion from Harrow

Fox was expelled from Harrow School a few weeks before his A-Level exams, and he later said that a report from the school made it hard for him to secure a university place.